Bren Smith’s “Eat Like a Fish”, GreenWave—Regenerative Ocean Farming Hub, The Climate Daily Reforestation Campaign!

EAT LIKE A FISH; MY ADVENTURES AS A FISHERMAN TURNED RESTORATIVE OCEAN FARMER, BY BREN SMITH

Seaweed is a sustainable, easy-to-produce ocean vegetable that has a positive impact on climate change and our environment. Why then is it not a staple ingredient used in American kitchens? In his memoir, EAT LIKE A FISH; MY ADVENTURES AS A FISHERMAN TURNED RESTORATIVE OCEAN FARMER, Bren Smith aims to convince us to see restorative ocean farming and seaweed as THE x factor that could turn the tide on climate change and feed 10 billion humans through his tales of ocean-bound adventure and culinary re-imagination.  

Why does a fisherman-turned-ocean farmer-turned author matter to us? Because of the power of his message. He says, “As ocean farmers, we can simultaneously create jobs, feed the planet, and fight climate change.” According to the World Bank, a network of ocean farms equivalent to 5 percent of U.S. territorial waters can have a deep impact with a small footprint, creating fifty million direct jobs, producing protein equivalent to 2.3 trillion hamburgers, and sequestering carbon equal to the output of twenty million cars. Another study found that a network of farms totaling the size of Washington State could supply enough protein for every person living today. And farming 9 percent of the world’s oceans could generate enough biofuel to replace all current fossil-fuel energy.

Does he succeed? You decide. Reviewer —Mark Bomford, Director, Yale Sustainable Food Program says, “In Eat Like a Fish, things don’t go according to plan, stuff breaks, people are jerks—and yet, through it all, Bren and friends keep going, not driven by naive optimism or messianic promises, but by the repeated application of practical, place-based experience.” And Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything says, “Bren Smith’s book on seaweed farming is something I’ve been looking forward to for years.” Finally, Bill McKibben,  of 350.org writes, “What a remarkable book! Bren Smith has a (wild) life story to recount, a novel food-growing technique to describe, and a planet to help save. He’s a deft enough writer to pull it all off, with a wry joy that left me (more than usually) hopeful about our future.”

DEEPER DIVE: GreenWave, Eat Like a Fish

GREENWAVE—REGENERATIVE OCEAN FARMING HUB

GreenWave’s goal is to support 10,000 farmers, catalyzing the scaled planting of regenerative ocean crops to yield meaningful economic and climate impacts.  To scale, they focus on two program areas: Training and Innovation.

It offers an Ocean Farming Hub: supports farmers from seed to sale. The platform includes a Regenerative Ocean Farming Toolkit to provide farmers with tools and a knowledge network to plan, permit, and launch their own farms; a community hub where folks can collaborate to scale their farms-

Intensive Farmer Training: Since launching its first regional training program in 2017, GreenWave has trained and supported more than 900 emerging ocean farmers and hatchery technicians. Beginning with broad opportunities, like introductory webinars and access to courses on the Hub, farmers who achieve certain milestones (such as permitting an ocean farm) can access technical support services such as farmer-only workshops and direct engagement with experts on the online community.

Economic Justice: As the emerging regenerative ocean farming industry matures, GreenWave’s goal is to ensure that under-resourced communities directly affected by climate change benefit from the industry’s growth and have pathways to become leaders in the field. From paid hatchery mentorships to laying the groundwork for the first two Indigenous-owned seaweed hatcheries in the country, they focus their programming and resources on supporting these communities. 

Why does the work of the Greenwave Regenerative Ocean Farming Hub matter to us? In the words of its co-founder Bren Smith, “After the cod stocks crashed in my home of Newfoundland, I was face-to-face with the reality that there would be no jobs on a dead planet. So I went on a journey of ecological redemption.” A journey ecological redemption is one we all need to take.

DEEPER DIVE: GreenWave, Eat Like a Fish

THE CLIMATE DAILY 50/100 REFORESTATION CAMPAIGN!

Earth Day has come and gone, but Earth Month still lives on! (Yeessss…) Thank you to the more than dozen listeners of The Climate Daily who donated to The Climate Champions 50/100 campaign! There’s still work to do to get us to 10,000 trees. That’s why we’re extending the campaign through the end of the month–to give more of you the chance to become climate champions.

What’s a climate champion, you ask? A climate champion proves that a small group of people can make a massive impact on the planet in a short amount of time. How? Our company, The Climate, is partnering with over 30 international tree-planting organizations–ALONG WITH our climate champions– to re-plant, and regrow forests all over the world, by planting ten thousand trees at a time. 

Why? Because science says the best way to combat climate change is to restore nature. And the fastest way to restore nature is to plant and grow a trillion trees, and the fastest way to plant and grow a trillion trees is to replant and regrow forests. The fastest way to do that is to plant ten thousand trees at a time, 

So, we’re looking for folks to donate $50 or $100 one time, to help us plant 10,000 trees at a time, in one of seven regions around the planet (Which our tree planting partners will do. They’re the tree-planting professionals.) Please visit champions.theclimate.org/climate hyphen champions/50or100. Click on the donate button and join our team of climate champions today. 

 Again, visit champions.theclimate.org/climate hyphen champions/50or100. Click on the donate button and join our team of climate champions today. And if you want to start your own team of climate champions, reach out to us at info@34.203.12.8. Well help you put together your own small group of climate champions to make a massive impact on the planet in a short amount of time. (Planting 10 thousand trees–a 20-acre forest!) 

Wouldn’t it be great to be the change you want to see in the world? Go to champions.theclimate.org/climate hyphen champions/50or100and become part of something special. Become a climate champion.  Thank you!!

DEEPER DIVE: 50/100 Campaign, Trillion Tree Project